All aboard the schooltrain

Growing up in Vacherie, Louisiana, Thelma loves watching the Sunset Limited pass by on its way to California, and she dreams of riding on a real train one day. For now, she has to settle for the schooltrain, where she and her friends and neighbors walk to school in a single file line. Meanwhile, Thelma sees effects of Jim Crow firsthand when her aunt and uncle move to California and then her best friend also has to leave, and she starts to wonder if Jim Crow is going to make trouble for her own family. After her father is fired from his job, Thelma finally gets the chance to ride on a real train when her parents decide to move to California to live with their aunt and uncle. She and her family climb aboard the Sunset Limited, but Thelma soon learns the her true ticket to a better life is her education. Includes an author's note and archival photographs.